Banish your bananas

Keep your bananas in their own bowl

It might sound bananas, but some fruit that comes into close contact with this bananas will ripen faster than normal. That’s because bananas produce ethylene gas (C2H4) which acts as a plant hormone. Plants contain genes, called ETR1 and CTR1, which regulate other genes involved with growth, ageing and cell death.

When ethylene gas is present, those genes ETR1 and CTR1 are shut off. This allows some of those other genes to swing into action, and speed up the ripening process.

Bananas produce only moderate levels of ethylene but apples, pears and melons are so sensitive to the hormone that it has a powerful effect on their ripening. These foods also produce ethylene gas while ripening:

• Bananas
• Avocados
• Tomatoes
• Cantaloupes
• Peaches
• Pears

Tip: Keep them away from ethylene-sensitive produce like potatoes, apples, leafy greens, berries and peppers and they’ll last longer.

Source Luis Villazon, ScienceFocus.com (https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/why-do-bananas-make-fruit-ripen-faster/)

Source: Healthline.com (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/reduce-food-waste)